Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

£76:00 for an adult and £55:00 for a child would also include dinner on Friday and all meals to breakfast on Monday with 2nd Class return fares. Accommodation was a bunk in a two berth cabin. It was announced that Accrington Brick & Tile (Nori), was to close its Whinney Hill Works, thus rendering the industrial branch line railway which connected it to the system redundant. March From March 10 th up until April 4 th , The Ideal Homes Exhibition was on at Earls Court, and there was an inclusive package on the train at £15:35p and £7:86p on Mondays to Saturdays, including underground transfers and reduced admission. An alternative was one of the ‘One Night Mini-Breaks’ in the capital. The 1st Class package was now £35:50p and £18:00 on Saturdays, the 2nd Class £25:50p and £13:00 on Mondays to Thursdays. There had to be a minimum of two people travelling together and sharing a room. At a meeting of the Land Committee the Borough Planning Officer reported that the Joint Reclamation Team were now required to carry out a similar soil survey on a stretch of embankment contained within the area of the Accrington to Baxenden redundant railway line. It had been intended that the team conducting this survey would gain access from some adjacent land, but had been prevented from doing so by the tenant. The Borough Planning Officer reported that an application had now been received from the Team, requesting vehicular access to the former trackbed through a disused allotment off Rothwell Avenue owned by the Council. Permission had been given subject to satisfactory reinstatement of this land. Having requested the Committee’s permission it was duly granted. There was a ‘Rambler’ to Holyhead on Saturday the 14 th , departing Accrington at 07:49, Rishton 07:56. It called at Llanfairfechan at 10:38 (19:14), Bangor 10:52 (19:04), Llanfair P.G. 11:10 (18:55), Bodorgan 11:26 (18:43), Ty Croes 11:32 (18:37), Rhosneiger 11:37 (18:32), arriving in Holyhead at 11:48 and returning at 18:20. There were light refreshments available, plus organised walks and the fares were £4:20p and £2:10p for a child. On Monday the 16 th , Sir Peter Parker, the Chairman of British Railways, made a short visit to the area to see first-hand the conditions on the Preston to Colne line. ( However, he only managed to get as far as Blackburn! ) The line was chosen as a ‘testbed’ for a new type of Diesel Multiple Unit’, known as a Railbus, ( a Class 140. ) It was hoped that this type of vehicle would transform services on the East Lancs Line, although pressure was put on him to extend the electrification of the lines out from Preston. Concerns were also expressed by representatives from STELLA (Support The East Lancashire Line Association), on proposals to lift one line from the double track section between Gannow Junction in Burnley to Colne. They also asked for a halt to any further developments on the erstwhile trackbed between Colne and Skipton. The Highways & Transportation Committee met again, when the Public Transport Manager (PTM), reported that the decisions contained in a previous minute relating to the offer made by BR with regard to the Senior Citizen’s Rail Card scheme, had been referred back to this Committee for further consideration. Members were reminded that BR had originally requested a meeting with Hyndburn Council to discuss this new initiative in detail, but this had been refused. This was mainly due to the fact that little interest had been shown by other authorities in this offer, also that the railway network offered little scope for local travel and that tokens were the only completely flexible system, which enabled the elderly to choose between the various options available. It was resolved to invite representatives from BR to address the next meeting of this Committee about their ‘new’ Senior Citizen’s Rail Card scheme. A special train organised by the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway Preservation Society operated on Saturday the 21 st . Starting in Adlington, it picked up in Rishton, Church & Oswaldtwistle and Accrington before heading for York where there was a 7½ hour stay. Tickets could be obtained in advance, from an address in Leyland, and the prices were £6:50p and £4:00 for a child. A similar train would operate on May 9 th , this time commencing in Chorley to visit Spalding for the Flower Parade, with the tickets priced at £9:00 and £6:00 respectively. The Policy & Resources Committee met, when the Town Clerk submitted correspondence from the Divisional Manager of BR, regarding the travel facilities at Church & Oswaldtwistle Railway Station, and a general discussion took place thereon. It was resolved that the Town Clerk would respond to the Divisional Manager, by requesting him to extend the trial period for excursion trains stopping at this station beyond the three dates he had offered. He was also requested to ensure that adequate publicity

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